Texas Occupations Code §162.104 directs the Texas Medical Board to require registration and a fee from each physician who gives anesthesia, or operates with anesthesia services, in an outpatient setting, which §162.101 defines as a setting that is not part of a licensed hospital or licensed ambulatory surgical center.
Chapter 181 of the Texas Health and Safety Code defines a covered entity broadly enough to include health care providers and anyone who maintains an internet site while handling protected health information. Under §181.201 the attorney general can seek civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation for negligence, $25,000 for knowing or intentional violations and $250,000 when the information was used for financial gain, with a cap of $1.5 million a year for a pattern or practice.
Our view: those penalty tiers make a defensive reply that mentions a procedure an expensive gamble. Reporting a review that breaks Google or Yelp policy lets the platform act, and the practice never has to touch the patient's details.